Auto Club 300
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| Venue | Auto Club Speedway of Southern California |
| Corporate sponsor | Stater Bros. |
| First race | 1997 |
| Distance | 300 miles |
| Number of laps | 150 |
| Previous names | Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 (1997-1998)
Auto Club 300 (1999-2002) 1-800-Pitshop.com 300 (2003) Stater Brothers 300 Presented by Gatorade (2004) |
The Stater Brothers 300 is the second race on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. It is held in February at Auto Club Speedway, usually the day before the Cup series race in February, although in 2008 it was held after the Cup series race due to a rain delay. It was previously ran in October and late April/early May.
2009
Carl Edwards started on the pole. Kyle Busch took the lead from Edwards before the completion of the first lap. Within six laps, Derrick Cope (#41), Dennis Setzer (#96), and Justin Ashburn (#05), and Casey Atwood (#85) drove their cars to the garage. Lap 39, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued; Michael Waltrip was spun around by Brandon Whitt (#61) on pit road, facing the opposite direction. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski led a lap and two laps respectively while Busch was in the pits. First caution on lap 51 when Michael McDowell's racecar caught on fire between turns one and two; McDownell was not injured. Mike Bliss moved up seven positions during the second round of pitstops from ninth to second behind Busch. The field restarted on lap 61.
A tire blew on Bliss' car in turn 1 on lap 65; he continued to race from the 24th position, two laps down after changing tires. Busch cliched the majority of laps led (76) on lap 79. Second caution on lap 90; Brian Vickers, running in fifth, lost control racing behind by Greg Biffle. Third round of pitstops: Ragan gained two positions (6th to 4th) while Harvick lost two positions (5th to 7th). Field restarted on lap 95. Between turn 3 and 4, Biffle made contact with Keselowsk, spinning Keselowski's car; Jason Leffler then hit Keselowski's car. The yellow flag was waved for the third time on lap 96. Keselowski's crew made repairs to the damaged car. Restart on lap 101. Keselowski restarts three laps down in the 29th position.
Greg Biffle, running in 14th, lost control out of turn 2 on lap 127. The yellow flag waves for the fourth time. Second place Edwards beat Busch leaving pit road for the lead by less than a car length during the fourth pitstop round. Scott Lagasse, Jr. (#11) gained three positions (13th to 10th). Field restarted on lap 134. Busch, Harvick, Logano, and Burton passed Edwards on the backstretch after the restart; Busch continued to led laps until the finish.
Kyle Busch won the race and led all but 7 laps. Harvick and Logano finished 2nd and 3rd place. Polesitter Carl Edwards led five laps and finished in 4th place ahead of teammate David Ragan. Mike Bliss, after the tire problem, finished in 13th. Brad Keselowski finished 27th and led two laps.
Past winners
| Year | Date | Winner | Make | Winner's Prize (USD) |
Distance (miles) |
Average Race Speed (mph) |
Race Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | October 19 |  Todd Bodine |
Pontiac | $67,200 | 300 | 145.083 | 2:04:04 |
| 1998 | July 19 |  Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet | $68,175 | 300 | 148.576 | 2:01:09 |
| 1999 | May 1 |  Matt Kenseth |
Chevrolet | $73,200 | 300 | 119.96 | 2:30:03 |
| 2000 | April 29 | Matt Kenseth |
Chevrolet | $68,350 | 300 | 126.375 | 2:22:25 |
| 2001 | April 28 | Hank Parker Jr. |
Chevrolet | $87,545 | 300 | 155.957 | 1:55:25 |
| 2002 | April 27 | Scott Riggs |
Ford | $84,670 | 300 | 131.403 | 2:16:59 |
| 2003 | April 26 | Matt Kenseth |
Ford | $67,975 | 300 | 129.419 | 2:19:05 |
| 2004 | May 1 |  Greg Biffle |
Ford | $68,560 | 300 | 138.978 | 2:09:31 |
| 2005 | February 26 |  Mark Martin |
Ford | $70,901 | 300 | 117.251 | 2:33:31 |
| 2006 | February 25 | Greg Biffle |
Ford | $76,500 | 300 | 147.501 | 2:02:02 |
| 2007 | February 24 | Matt Kenseth |
Ford | $82,500 | 300 | 127.871 | 2:20:46 |
| 2008 | February 25 |  Tony Stewart |
Toyota | $77,245 | 300 | 141.769 | 2:06:58 |
| 2009 | February 21 |  Kyle Busch |
Toyota | $76,820 | 300 | 137.178 | 2:11:13 |
| 2010 | February 20 | Kyle Busch |
Toyota | $68,845 | 304 | 143.886 | 2:06:46 |
- 2008: Race postponed from Saturday night to Monday afternoon due to rain.
- 2010: Race extended to 152 laps / 304 miles due to a Green-white-checker finish.
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